In yet another chapter in this fight that has dragged on over the past few years, Google has just been fined $32.5 million for violating Sonos’ patent.
In this case, the patent in question covers the grouping of speakers so that they can play audio at the same time. Google Home and Chromecast Audio are some of the products that have infringed the patent.
Initially, U.S. District Judge William Alsup’s decision in US court only addressed early iterations of Google’s hardware. However, in a recent development, a jury found that the newer versions of Chromecast Audio and Google Home also infringed on the same patent.
Sonos claims that the amount of the millionaire fine is still far from enough, since for it Google should still pay for “a fair royalty for the inventions it appropriated”. In a statement, the company claims that the search giant violated no less than 200 patents.
As said, this is just another chapter in this long court battle between Sonos and Google. In 2020, also due to patent infringement, a court decision ordered Google to stop selling infringing products and pay $50 million to Sonos.
At the time, Google appealed the decision and the case is still ongoing. In addition, the company also filed a lawsuit against Sonos alleging violations of its patents. This battle still has a long way to go…
